


You Too, You Know?

by NainThePain



Category: Runaways (Comics), Runaways (TV 2017)
Genre: But really anytime after Nico and Karolina are together, Canon Divergence - Post Volume 5 Issue 12, F/F, I don't think that's actually a tag but anyways, Karolina opens up to Nico, She's been through a lot too, family camping trip, kind of, my second fanfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NainThePain/pseuds/NainThePain
Summary: Throughout their whole relationship, Karolina's always been so willing, so ready to help Nico with anything and everything that keeps her up at night. Nico thinks it's high time she returns the favour, even if communication really isn't her forte.
Relationships: Karolina Dean/Nico Minoru
Comments: 3
Kudos: 82





	You Too, You Know?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second fanfiction ever, I hope you like it. If you've not read the comics, you should, but all you need to know for this fic is that before they got together Nico was kidnapped and sent to Murderworld, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Karolina left with Xavin to unite their races but they failed and a war started so they returned to Earth but then Xavin had to leave to save Karolina. Then Nico and Karolina started dating a while after that. That's all. Pretty standard stuff, really.

“Karrie?” Nico calls from where she’s sitting against the headboard of their bed, setting the book she had been reading down beside her. 

The other girl looks up from where she’s sunbathing under the skylight, giving her the soft smile that’s reserved just for her when their eyes meet. 

Nico swallows, suddenly nervous. But she has to do this, this isn’t for her, this is for Karrie. No matter how uncomfortable talking about her feelings makes her, it’s all worth it if it makes Karolina feel even the tiniest bit better. Anything would be worth that. 

“Nico?” Karolina prompts, when the black haired girl doesn’t say anything more. 

Taking a deep breath and ignoring the squirming feeling in her stomach, Nico pushes forward. “You know how after… everything, you always tell me that if I ever want to talk about anything I can come to you?” 

“Yeah, of course,” Karolina nods, standing and making her way over to the bed, taking a seat at the foot and facing Nico. “What’s up?”

“It’s just, you too, you know?” she says lamely, wincing as she finishes her words because even she knows that wasn’t enough. 

Karolina stares blankly at her for a moment, waiting for her to elaborate, and Nico wants to, she does, she just doesn’t know where to begin. Karrie has done so much for her, and she can’t possibly begin to imagine how she can show her how much she appreciates it, how much it means to her- how much _she_ means to her. 

But that doesn’t mean she won’t try. She has to try. Trying, that’s something she’s good at. No one has ever faulted her for not trying. It’s just the succeeding she seems to have trouble with. 

“Nico, what?” Karolina finally says, her brow furrowed adorably and Nico has to fight the urge to kiss her. 

Instead she shakes away the thought, focusing on what she’s trying so hard to do. “I mean, what I’m trying to say is that you’ve been through a lot too,” she explains, looking intently into the blue eyes in front of her. “And if there was ever anything you wanted to talk about, I want you to know that I’m here. For you to talk to. If you want.”

“Nico…” Karolina trails off, a broad smile stretching across her face as she crawls up the bed and takes her place next to her girlfriend, placing a quick kiss on her cheek before leaning her head against her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“I mean it,” Nico nods, determined, and Karolina laughs. 

“I know you do.”

———————

It’s not until a couple weeks later that Karolina takes her up on her offer. 

It’s the middle of the night and Nico is grumbling in her sleep because Karolina keeps kicking all the blankets off the bed. It’s not her fault though, she literally absorbs solar energy, no one can really blame her for being so warm. 

(Except for Nico, who complains every single night about it, even though the look in her eyes as she does tells Karolina that there’s no place she’d rather be.)

She’s been sleeping without her inhibitor bracelet again lately. Even though the light makes it harder to fall asleep, allowing some of her energy to be converted into light rather than heat lets her get a much better sleep. (Nico promises the light doesn’t bother her.) (To be honest, she finds it rather comforting.) (She just hasn’t quite been able to tell Karolina that part just yet.)

But it’s not the heat or the light or the lack of blankets that pulls Nico from whatever shallow sleep she’d been able to manage that night. (It turns out it’s much harder to sleep soundly after being trapped on an island designed purely to allow people the opportunity to murder each other for the entertainment of others. Who would have guessed?) What wakes her is the distinct sense that something is missing. 

Automatically, her hand reaches out for the space next to her, only for her to find it empty. She sits up with a start, suddenly fully awake and acutely aware of the fact that the room is actually chilly and dark for once, what were once her favourite sleeping conditions but which now were the last thing she’d ever wish for. 

“Karrie?” she calls out into the dark, but she doesn’t expect an answer. That doesn’t stop her heart rate from picking up when she doesn’t receive one though. 

She quickly climbs out of bed, grabbing the blanket from the floor and wrapping it around herself as she carefully walks barefoot through the creaky halls of the Hostel. 

She checks all the rooms Karolina frequents with any regularity, and by this point she is actually starting to get worried. She knows she was probably overreacting at first, but if Karrie really is gone- 

She hears a shuffling sound and her head snaps towards the source, her body already on high alert as she drops her blanket and gets ready to call the Staff of One should she need it. 

She breathes a sigh of relief when she sees two green eyes peering back at her in the dark. 

A soft meow can be heard and she wraps the blanket back around herself as she follows Rufus towards the door and out of the Hostel. 

The grass is soft under her feet when the cat stops, looking up at her expectantly and then towards a lone silhouette against the night sky, seated on a hill and staring up at the stars. 

She reaches down to gently scratch behind his ears and he purrs contently before heading back in the direction of the Hostel. 

“Hey,” Nico says softly as she sits down on the grass next to Karolina, tightening the blanket around her shoulders against the chill night air. 

“Hey,” the taller girl responds, her voice a little rougher than usual, and even in the dim lighting Nico can tell her eyes are red and her cheeks are flushed. 

She doesn’t say anything at first, instead waiting for the other girl to speak. They sit in a comfortable silence for a while, until it becomes clear that Karolina has no intention of being the first to say something. 

“Karrie?” Nico asks gently, but the other girl doesn’t respond, even if they both know that she heard her. 

“Karrie,” Nico tries again, only this time it isn’t a question, and Karolina turns to her, a single tear tracking down her cheek. 

“Talk to me,” the shorter girl says, reaching out and wiping the tear away, cradling Karolina’s cheek as she looks into her eyes. 

Karolina pulls back after a moment and away from Nico’s hand, looking back to the sky and for a second Nico thinks that’s all she’s going to get. That after all the Murderworld nightmares Karolina’s gotten her through, all the sleepless nights she’s sat up with her, all the times she’d reassured her when she worried she just wasn’t good enough, wasn’t enough for their family, now that Karolina needed her, she just couldn’t be that for her. 

But then suddenly there are arms wrapping around her neck, and hot tears dripping onto the side of her face, and she quickly opens up the blanket to pull Karolina closer to her, to hold her as close as she possibly can. Wrapping them both in the blanket from their bed, she moves so that Karolina is pressed against her, her face buried in the crook of her neck as Nico rubs her back soothingly. 

“I- I couldn’t-” Karolina chokes out between sobs, and Nico’s heart breaks. 

“It’s okay, I’m here. It’s okay,” she whispers in her ear, and soon the tears slow, and Karolina pulls away just a little bit. Enough to be sitting next to Nico rather than practically on top of her, but still under the blanket they were sharing. 

“What’s going on?” Nico asks softly as Karolina wipes at her eyes, looking anywhere but Nico’s face. 

“Hey,” she says when she doesn’t receive a response, using a finger to guide the other girl’s face back to her own. “Hey. You can talk to me.”

Karolina swallows but nods, fiddling with her fingers in her lap. “I couldn’t save them,” she says finally, meeting Nico’s eyes. “When I went with Xavin-” she continues, freezing as she says her ex’s name, but Nico just looks at her encouragingly. “When I went with Xavin, we were supposed to unite them. But we didn’t, _I_ didn’t, and now they’re all- they’re-” 

The tears are threatening to fall again, and Nico is desperate now to make her see that no, it wasn’t her fault. She’s the strongest, the kindest, the most amazing person she’s ever met, and if warring alien planets wanted to fight each other, they would find a reason to do it. There was nothing she could have done. The fact that she even tried, that she just left everything she had ever known to go and try to make a difference was incredible. She just doesn’t know how to tell her. 

Instead, Nico cups her cheek and leans forward, connecting their lips and pouring everything she wants to say but can’t find the words for into the kiss. 

“Karrie…” she breathes when she pulls away, resting their foreheads together. And she knows she has to try and tell her everything that she’s thinking, because the idea of Karolina not knowing, not realizing, it’s killing her. 

“You’re- you’re everything. It wasn’t your fault, okay? I need you to hear me. There was nothing you could have done,” Nico whispers into the barely there space between their lips and she can feel a tear run down Karolina’s face and onto her own, but she waits until she feels the other girl nod before continuing. “They wanted to fight. They would have taken any excuse to, and they did. Nobody could have stopped the war, because they didn’t want anyone to. But you tried, and that’s what makes you so amazing. That’s what makes you _you_.”

“But I wasn’t enough,” Karolina counters, and Nico wants to scream because what does she have to do to make this girl realize that she is everything? 

“No one could’ve been,” she says instead. 

“You don’t know that.”

“Okay, maybe I don’t. But I know you. And I know you did everything you could.”

“I did, yeah,” Karolina sniffles. “But it wasn’t enough.”

“I know, baby. I know,” Nico says softly, repositioning them so she can wrap her arms around Karolina. “I’m sorry.”

Karolina leans into the embrace, and Nico holds on tight, finally relaxing when she feels the other girl’s breathing evening out, her body settling into her arms. 

They stay like that for a long time, Nico watching the stars and listening to Karolina’s breathing, and soon she’s waking up to the sun shining down on them. She had laid down at some point, Karolina moving with her to where she was now curled into her side, both of them tangled up in their blanket. 

Nico softly brushes the hair out of Karolina’s face as she starts to stir. 

“Good morning,” Nico whispers as she blinks up groggily at her. 

“Why’s it so bright?” Karolina mumbles back, burying her face deeper into Nico’s side, and the other girl just smiles, relishing in how far they’d come. She still sometimes couldn’t believe it, that she had finally gotten herself together enough to be with Karolina. That Karolina even wanted that after everything they’d been through. But here she is, here they are, and Nico’s never been happier. 

“Well, _someone_ snuck off last night and I had to come find them outside,” Nico teases as she plays with the inhibitor bracelet on Karolina’s wrist. “Sound familiar?” 

“Oh god,” Karolina winces, and Nico can practically feel her cheeks heating up against her side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“I wish you had. I didn’t like waking up without you,” Nico responds, aiming for teasing but instead ending up somewhere more along the lines of pleading and broken. Which gets Karolina to sit up, much to Nico’s disappointment. She was quite fond of their previous position. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” she says, her eyes widening. “I didn’t even think- I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Nico shrugs, sitting up as well. “I was just worried.”

“It wasn’t fine. I’ll tell you next time,” Karolina promises, and Nico knows she means it. 

“Thanks.”

“Did you guys sleep out here?” an excited voice asks as Molly comes running up behind them, pulling the two girls out of their own little world. “Is that something we’re allowed to do now? I asked Chase if I could camp here once and he said it wasn’t safe. But if we’re allowed to now, then I need to find my sleeping bag! Do you know where it is, Nico?”

Nico turns to the thirteen year old girl who’s looking at her expectantly and blinks a few times. “I need coffee before I can answer any of those questions,” she states simply, huffing when Karolina gently elbows her. 

“I’ll help you look for it, Molly. And then we can talk to Chase about having a family camping trip tonight, if that’s something you’re interested in?” Karolina asks as she disentangles herself from Nico, much to the girl’s dismay. 

“If that’s something I’m interested in? Heck yes!” Molly cheers, grabbing Karolina’s hand and pulling her back towards the Hostel. “Drink your coffee then come join us!” Molly calls over her shoulder to Nico as they head inside, and Karolina laughs. 

———————

The day is a busy mess of last minute packing, because even though they’re only going to be a couple minutes walk from the Hostel’s entrance, Molly insists they’re not allowed back for any reason short of the apocalypse, and so they’d better bring everything they’ll need. 

Chase managed to scrounge up three tents and a couple of sleeping bags, plus a whole pile of assorted blankets which he was able to use to make up a makeshift sleeping area for Gib since he was too tall to fit in any of the tents they had. No one else was interested, so it was just the five of them, plus Rufus who was sharing Molly’s tent. 

Nico had immediately claimed one of the sleeping bags, so after a night filled with campfires, stories, and way too many marshmallows, she and Karolina crawled into their much too small tent together. 

Their tent was a ways away from the others so they didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing them, something that Chase had teased Nico about to no end until she threatened to use the staff on him. 

In reality Nico just wanted to finally have a chance to talk to Karolina about last night, the day was much too hectic for her to have been able to steal the blond away for any time at all. 

“Karrie, about last night,” Nico starts once the two of them have settled in, Nico in her usual spot, back pressed against Karolina’s front, tucked safely in her arms. 

“I’m sorry about that,” Karolina responds, her breath against Nico’s ear causing her to shiver, but she can’t get distracted right now. Plus, no matter how much Chase teased her, they weren’t actually _that_ far away from everyone else. But anyways she needs to stay focused. 

She turns around in Karolina’s arms and moves back just enough to be able to look her in the eyes. “Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“Oh. Thank you,” Karolina says as she presses a quick kiss to Nico’s lips. “I _know_ it wasn’t my fault. I do. I was just a kid, and they were entire planets with years of history of war together, but sometimes it’s still too much, and I just can’t see it, you know?”

“It’s a lot,” Nico agrees, comfortably returning to her usual position now that Karolina’s started talking. 

“It is. But I’m getting better at handling it. I don’t think the guilt will ever go away, not entirely, but it’s getting better. I have my therapist, and she’s helping a lot.”

“And you have me,” Nico says with a smile, her eyelids suddenly heavy from the busy day and the less than stellar sleep the night before. 

“And I have you,” Karolina repeats softly, and Nico can hear the smile in her voice as her arms tighten around her waist. 

And maybe that’s enough, for both of them. 

And if it isn’t, well then they’ll figure that out together, too.


End file.
